They say you’ve got to spend money to make money, and unfortunately, that seems to be true. So what do you do when you don’t have any money? Easy.

A neeewwww zeeeeeero perrrrrrcent crrrrredit carrrrrrd!

I’ve applied for a 0% APR credit card to cover the (OMG ridiculous) cost of the ad. Our wedding photography company seems to be a lot easier to advertise for (it’s more obvious where to promote ourselves and in fewer words) so we’re getting an ad for NJohnston Photography, instead of Little Feet Productions (which is a video production company.) We’re going to be listed on TheKnot.com (ho hum, we’re only the coolest of the trendiest of wedding websites!) and we’re stoked. Nathaniel has shot most of his weddings in Key West, so we don’t have much of a reputation in Los Angeles. Hence, the ad. Well, it’s actually not an ad, but a listing. So when brides are looking for a wedding photographer in SoCal, they’ll see our profile on the main page of their search.

It’s not always easy to know where to promote your business. Again, a wedding photography company isn’t that complicated – Bridal magazines, websites, etc. But what about our video production company? We’re putting postcards in acting studios to promote our actors’ reel editing and in music rehearsal studios to promote our music video shooting. I’ve written an article on owning a video production company to submit to various on-the-topic magazines, but that’s just sort of preaching to other like-businesses, instead of potential clients. How you choose to spend the little money you have when starting a business is tricky. I found this site online that suggests inexpensive ways to promote your business, and found it fairly informative – 24 Low-Cost Ways to Promote Your Business. One of the most interesting parts I found was suggesting that you join your local Chamber of Commerce meetings. If I had a little more time, a little more energy, and a little less of a 7month old baby, I’d totally check it out.

With all the options you have for promoting your business, we’ve decided to put all our money in one place. We figured, since The Knot is really prestigious (in terms of having a huge following) we should give them all our money to put us on the main page of the photography vendors. How much does it cost, you ask? $555 per month for the next 6 months (i.e. more than any one thing we pay for, except for our mortgage.) But we think it’s worth it. If this thing works, I’m going to shout The Knot’s success from the rooftops of the world… or at least, I’ll tell you guys.